Departments: Publicity

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department spent on  (a) sponsoring newspaper or publication supplements and  (b) advertorials in newspapers or other publications in the latest year for which figures are available; and what the topic was of each publication.

Angela Smith: Where costs for supplements and advertorials are available they are as shown.
	The Department has undertaken advertising and advertorials for the Home Information Pack take up campaign but the disaggregated costs could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Local E-Gov Take-Up campaign aimed at encouraging citizens to make greater use of on-line council services. There were two phases of advertising in 2006-07. The total spend across both phases was £1.6 million of this  (a) £24,000 was spent on supplements and on  (b) £193,580 was spent on advertorials.
	The Female Fire Fighter Awareness campaign aimed at encouraging women to consider the Fire and Rescue Service as a viable career option. There was one burst of advertising in 2006-07. The total spend was £800,000 of this  (a) £5,000 was spent on advertorials and  (b) £93,255 was spent in women's press titles.
	The Fire Safety campaign aimed at reducing the number of deaths and serious injury. Of the total spend of £3.3 million, the spend on advertorials was £6,860 that ran in the BME media.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate she has made of the average cost of a home information pack (HIP); what factors will determine the  (a) cost and  (b) price of a HIP; and if she will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The price of a home information pack will be set by the market, not by Government. The main components affecting costs are the searches and the energy performance certificate. Searches are already paid for in housing transactions at the moment and their cost varies substantially from area to area. Energy performance certificates are the only new element and could save buyers hundreds of pounds in fuel bills as well as having the potential to help them get access to green mortgages or grants from utility companies for energy saving improvements.
	The price of HIP's will also be affected by the level of competition and economies of scale as well as factors such as the size and type of the property. At least one estate agent has said it will provide HIP's for free and others will provide them on a 'no sale, no fee' basis.

Housing Data Warehouse

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1354W, on the Housing Data Warehouse, whether the data provided by the Valuation Office Agency includes  (a) address data,  (b) names of the residents,  (c) banding data on individual properties and  (d) dwelling house code and value significant code data;
	(2)  what the purpose is of the Housing Data Warehouse; how much has been allocated to it for 2007-08; and which Government agencies and Departments will have access to it.

Ruth Kelly: The data provided by the Valuation Office Agency is limited to the address and council tax banding of domestic properties.
	For the purpose of the Housing Data Warehouse I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1571W, to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles).
	There is no specific allocation for the Housing Data Warehouse in 2007-08 as the running costs are contained within existing resources.
	Only Communities and Local Government has direct access to the Housing Data Warehouse. There are no plans to extend direct access to other Government agencies or Departments. Specific requests for data from other Government agencies and Departments would be considered on a case by case basis and with regard to the need to avoid disclosure of personal information.

Local Government: Training

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department is still supporting the Future Leadership programme.

Ruth Kelly: The Future Leaders programme was commissioned as an investment in leadership capacity in order to raise the long-term performance of local government. Since 2004, 353 people from across local government have completed the programme. In 2006-07 and 2007-08 a total of £3.5 million has been provided to regional improvement partnerships by the Department to enable them to purchase places on a suite of capacity-building programmes including the Future Leadership programme.

Courts: Pay

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the rate of local court staff turnover following implementation of the new pay system, broken down by region.

Harriet Harman: The ongoing negotiations with the Trade Unions address a range of important issues, including how the new pay system will better enable the department to retain court staff. I will write to you once the negotiations have been concluded.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the amount to be paid by taxpayers outside London towards the Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: I refer my hon. Friend to my statement of 15 March 2007 where I set out that up to £6.0 billion (including £2.7 billion of programme contingency funding) was being provided from the Exchequer to support the Olympic park; infrastructure and regeneration. This includes around £840 million to meet the Olympic Delivery Authority's liability for value added tax.

Television: Broadcasting Reception

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the account taken of the impact of new development on television reception in the planning system.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 16 April 2007
	There has been no recent discussion with the Department for Communities and Local Government on this matter.
	Guidance to local planning authorities on this issue can be found in Planning Policy Guidance 8 (PPG 8): Telecommunications and is available from the Department of Communities and Local Government. This is supplemented by guidance available from the BBC, Ofcom and the transmission operators.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outflow was from the regular Army for each year since 2001, broken down by  (a) rank of officer and  (b) other ranks.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Army UK regular forces outflow( 1)  from trained strength to civil life by rank and financial year 
			  Number/percentage 
			   2001 - 02  2002 - 03  2003 - 04  2004 - 05  2005 - 06 
			   Number  Rate( 2)  Number  Rate( 2)  Number  Rate( 2)  Number  Rate( 2)  Number  Rate( 2) 
			  Army  9,990  10.4  9,670  10.0  9,570  9.7  10,740  108  10,500  10.7 
			
			  Officers  900  7.0  800  6.1  780  5.8  900  6.6  980  7.1 
			 Brigadier and above 40 14.8 30 12.9 30 12.7 30 12.5 20 10.5 
			 Colonel 60 12.2 60 10.0 40 7.6 60 10.3 80 13.0 
			 Lieutenant Colonel 150 9.0 150 8.7 150 8.8 150 8.5 160 9.5 
			 Major 330 7.4 290 6.3 280 5.9 320 6.8 340 7.0 
			 Captain 290 6.9 260 5.9 260 5.7 310 6.9 360 7.8 
			 Lieutenant/2nd Lieutenant 30 1.9 20 1.3 20 1.1 30 1.6 20 1.1 
			
			  Other ranks  9,090  10.9  8,870  10.6  8,790  10.3  9,840  11.4  9,520  11.3 
			 Warrant Officer(l) 300 17.3 300 17.2 290 16.2 350 19.5 380 21.4 
			 Warrant Officer(2) 520 10.5 580 11.9 510 10.4 600 12.2 700 14.5 
			 Staff Sergeant 480 7.9 520 8.5 450 7.4 530 8.7 650 10.7 
			 Sergeant 690 6.7 600 5.9 540 5.2 700 6.7 800 7.8 
			 Corporal 1,180 7.4 1,140 7.2 1,050 6.5 1,190 7.4 1,240 7.8 
			 Lance Corporal 1,450 9.2 1,500 9.2 1,580 9.8 1,720 10.6 1,680 10.5 
			 Private (Classes 1-3) 4,260 15.4 3,990 14.5 4,000 14.1 4,370 15.1 3,870 13.7 
			 Private (Class 4) 210 20.9 250 20.5 370 23.8 380 24.9 200 22.4 
			 1 Figures show all outflow from Army UK Regular Forces including recalled reservists on release and outflow to the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment. Figures do not include promotion from ranks to officer or crossflows into Royal Navy or Royal Air Force. 2 Annual rates are calculated by taking the number of exits as a percentage of the avenge trained strength (defined as a 13-month rolling average of the trained strength in the individual months) of each rank (or totals thereof).  Note: Due to the founding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When founding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Percentages are calculated from unrounded figures.  Source: DASA (Tri-Service) 
		
	
	Outflow figures from each service are published monthly by DASA in Tri Service Publication (TSP) 5, which can be accessed from the following web page:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp5/gennotes.html

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people in her Office who participated in  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 1997-98 were paid between (i) £0 to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office, which includes the Prime Minister's Office, approved departures under voluntary exit schemes in each of the financial years since 1997 as follows:
	
		
			  1 April to 31 March:  Number of employees 
			 1997-98 0 
			 1998-99 0 
			 1999-2000 4 
			 2000-01 6 
			 2001-02 3 
			 2002-03 10 
			 2003-04 35 
			 2004-05 1 
			 2005-06 4 
			 2006-07 1 
			 Total 64 
		
	
	The Cabinet Office has not held involuntary exit schemes in any of these years.
	The Cabinet Office aims to ensure that it has a diverse and skilled workforce to meet its business needs. Voluntary departures schemes are one of thetools it uses, as an alternative to redundancy, to reduce headcount, to refresh skills and to tackle staff surpluses. The criteria for such schemes are governed by the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, which provides compensation to civil servants who leave via an exit scheme before their pension age.
	Information on costs of voluntary departure scheme is available only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many people in his Department participated in  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 1997-98; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people in his Department who participated in  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 1997-98 were paid between (i) £0 to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: There have been no involuntary exit schemes in the Department since 1997 and we remain committed to minimise recourse to compulsory redundancies. The Department has managed part of its staff reductions through voluntary early releases.
	From the 1997-98 financial year to the end of the 2006-07 financial year, the total number of such releases were as follows:
	
		
			   Number of releases 
			 1997-98 101 
			 1998-99 51 
			 1999-00 50 
			 2000-01 61 
			 2001-02 84 
			 2002-03 57 
			 2003-04 28 
			 2004-05 332 
			 2005-06 204 
			 2006-07 156 
		
	
	Information on individual voluntary exit scheme payments to staff for each of those years is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Further Education

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the successful completion rate was for further education courses in each year from 2001 to 2006.

Bill Rammell: Success rates for LSC-funded provision delivered through FE colleges and external institutions are detailed in the following table. Data for 2005/06 is not yet available but will be published later this month.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   FE colleges  External institutions 
			 2000/01 59 57 
			 2001/02 65 61 
			 2002/03 68 62 
			 2003/04 72 65 
			 2004/05 75 66 
		
	
	Targets for FE college learner success rates have been set at 76 per cent. by 2007/08 with a further stretch to 80 per cent. by 2010/11.
	Success rates for LSC-funded work-based learning (WBL) courses are shown in the following table. Again, data for 2005/06 will be published later this month.
	
		
			   Work-based learning (Percentage) 
			 2000/01 n/a 
			 2001/02 36 
			 2002/03 41 
			 2003/04 46 
			 2004/05 53 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	Data on successful completion rates are not available for adult and community learning or for school sixth forms.

School Leaving

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 16 to 18-year-olds were not in education, employment or training in the 10 per cent. of local education authorities with the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest levels of free school meal entitlement in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006.

Jim Knight: The following table gives the estimated number and percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (MEET) in the 10 per cent. of local authorities with the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest levels of free school meal entitlement between November 2005 and January 2006. Data on NEET to the local authority area is not available for 1997.
	
		
			  Estimated number and percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds in (a) highest and (b) lowest 10 per cent. of local authorities by free school meal entitlement who were not in education, employment or training (NEET), November 2005 to January 2006 
			   Percentage known to be eligible for free meals( 1)  Number NEET  Percentage NEET 
			  (a) Highest proportion with free school meal entitlement
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 29.0 450 15.9 
			 Liverpool 29.8 2,080 12.4 
			 Middlesbrough 30.9 880 15.7 
			 Camden 31.5 440 8.9 
			 Birmingham 31.6 4,620 14.3 
			 Westminster 32.7 380 8.2 
			 Knowsley 33.9 700 12.4 
			 Haringey 34.8 730 11.6 
			 Lambeth 37.4 790 15.3 
			 Hackney 38.3 760 16.1 
			 Newham 40.2 880 9.8 
			 Manchester 40.9 1,870 12.0 
			 Southwark 42.9 770 14.5 
			 Islington 43.0 650 10.5 
			 Tower Hamlets 59.5 870 12.6 
			 
			  (b) Lowest proportion with free school meal entitlement
			 Rutland 3.8 10 0.9 
			 Wokingham 4.5 230 6.1 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 4.5 180 5.0 
			 Bracknell Forest 4.7 250 8.6 
			 West Berkshire 5.1 300 6.4 
			 Wiltshire 5.1 650 5.7 
			 Buckinghamshire 5.4 550 3.9 
			 Poole 5.6 300 6.6 
			 Leicestershire 5.6 1,200 6.4 
			 North Yorkshire 5.9 870 4.9 
			 Dorset 5.9 656 6.0 
			 West Sussex 6.0 1,090 4.7 
			 Surrey 6.1 1,040 3.5 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 6.3 310 5.3 
			 Lincolnshire 6.4 1,310 6.0 
			 (1 )Secondary Schools, January 2006 
		
	
	These figures are drawn from the operational client management systems maintained by Connexions services. It only includes those people known to the service (about 85 per cent. of the population); some young people who attended independent schools or were at school outside England are excluded. The age relates to those of calendar year age 16-18 on the date of measurement.
	This NEET measure is that used for setting and monitoring local authority performance. The definition differs from that used to measure the national departmental PSA NEET target. Along with not covering the entire population, the Connexions NEET measure excludes those on gap years, or in custody. The PSA measure is for academic rather than calendar age 16-18.

Science: Teachers

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many of the 7,500 new science teachers hired in 2005 referred to in the Prime Minister's speech Our Nation's Future—Science in November 2006 are specialists in  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry and  (c) biology.

Jim Knight: The 7,500 referred to in the Prime Minister's speech, "Our Nation's Future—Science", is the number of trainees registered to enter mainstream(1) science, technology, engineering and mathematics Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses in the academic year 2005/06. The breakdown of science courses into the individual specialisms was not available prior to 2006/07. Provisional data for recruitment to ITT courses in 2006/07 was published in January 2007 and is available at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000681/index.shtml
	(1) Mainstream ITT providers include Universities and other Higher Education Institutions, SCITT and OU, but excludes employment based routes

Special Educational Needs: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) Ribble Valley (i) had special educational needs and (ii) were educated in special schools in each year since 2000.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and number of pupils in special schools( 1)  2000- 06, position in January each year—Lancashire local authority and Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency 
			  Lancashire local authority 
			   Pupils with SEN  Pupils in special  s chools 
			   With statements  Without statements( 2)  Maintained  Non-maintained 
			   Number  Percentage( 4)  Number  Percentage( 4)  Number  Percentage( 5)  Number  Percent age( 5) 
			 2000 7,666 4.1 29,706 15.7 2,224 1.2 88 0.05 
			 2001(3) 7,454 3.8 29,469 15.6 2,241 1 2 73 0 04 
			 2002 7,275 3.9 28,497 15.2 2,270 1.2 — — 
			 2003 7,248 3.9 23,566 12.6 2,253 1.2 — — 
			 2004 7,323 4.0 23,862 15.0 2,238 1.2 — — 
			 2005 7,391 4.0 23,089 14.5 2,205 1.2 — — 
			 2006 7,332 4.1 23,093 14.8 2,186 1.2 — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Ribble Valley local authority 
			   Pupils with SEN  Pupils in  special schools 
			   With statements  Without statements  Maintained  Non-maintained 
			   Number  Percentage( 4)  Number  Percentage( 4)  Number  Percentage( 5)  Number  Percent age( 5) 
			 2000 473 2.6 2.034 11.2 61 0.3 — — 
			 2001(3) 462 2.5 2,023 11.0 61 0.3 — — 
			 2002 428 2.3 2,027 11.0 60 0.3 — — 
			 2003 430 2.3 1,722 9.2 60 0.3 — — 
			 2004 431 2.3 1,673 8.9 61 0.3 — — 
			 2005 439 2.3 1,667 8.8 60 0.3 — — 
			 2006 436 2.3 1,847 9.8 61 0.3 — — 
			 (1 )Excludes dually registered pupils (2 )Excludes general hospital schools. This information is not collected from these schools. (3 )There are known quality issues with data on special educational needs collected via the Schools Census in 2001. Figures shown here are as reported by schools. (4 )Number of pupils with or without a statement of SEN expressed as a percentage of the number on roll. (5 )Number of pupils m maintained or non-maintained special schools expressed as a percentage of pupils in all schools. Not applicable, no schools of this type.  Source: School Census

Teachers: Early Retirement

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of teachers in the leadership group have taken early retirement in each of the past 10 years.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the number and percentage of leadership group teachers retiring from the maintained school sector in each year from 1996-97 to 2005-06, the latest information available.
	
		
			  Head, deputy head and assistant head teacher retirement benefits( 1)  from the maintained schools sector, 1996-97 to 2005-06 
			   Retirements  
			  Financial year (1 April to 31 March)  Premature( 2)  Ill h ealth( 3)  Total  Percentage( 4) 
			 1996-97(5) 2,200 930 3,130 6.6 
			 1997-98(5) 2,380 590 2,970 6.3 
			 1998-99(5) 590 430 1,020 2.2 
			 1999-2000(5) 590 370 970 2.1 
			 2000-01(5) 950 480 1,430 2.8 
			 2001-02 1,030 460 1,490 2.7 
			 2002-03 1,120 370 1,480 2.7 
			 2003-04 1,290 370 1,660 3.0 
			 2004-05(6) 1,530 270 1,790 3.2 
			 2005-06(6) 1,710 250 1,960 3.4 
			 (1) Teachers awarded benefits from the Teachers Pension scheme. (2) The effect of the change in the Teachers' Pension scheme as from 31 August 1997 was that many more teachers took early retirement in 1997 than in previous years. Premature includes actuarially reduced benefit retirements from 2000-01. (3) Changes in the statutory regulations governing ill-health retirement came into force on 1 April 1997. To qualify for ill-health retirement benefits a teacher must now be regarded as permanently unfit to teach. (4) Total retirements as a percentage of full-time and part-time teachers in service. (5) For retirement proportions, teacher numbers have been provided from the DfES annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies (618G survey) from 2001-02. Teacher numbers were not available from this, the departments preferred source of teacher numbers, prior to this therefore have been provided from the Database of Teacher Records. (6) Provisional.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of their component parts because of rounding.  Sources: Database Of Teacher Records (DTR) and DfES annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies (618g)

Packaging

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of infringement considered since the introduction of the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations have not resulted in prosecutions.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 April 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	Trading Standards investigate many cases of infringement on a range of legislation, the majority of which are dealt with through other means (e.g. meetings with the company or correspondence) than prosecution. Data on unsuccessful prosecution cases and infringements dealt with by other means are not centrally collected in regards to the packaging (essential requirements) regulations.

Departments: EC Action

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which projects were funded in the last 12 months for which figures are available by  (a) the Committee of the Regions and  (b) the Economic and Social Committee on informing people in the European spirit; and what role her Department has played in the development of such projects in the UK.

Geoff Hoon: The Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organise a number of communication projects. These include the CoR OPENDAYS and the EESC's local stakeholder forums. These are funded from an overall communications budget of €2.2 million per year for the CoR and €900,000 per annum for the EESC. The annual communication budget for both committees does not indicate the funding for individual projects. Although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office lead on the selection of members to the UK delegations to both committees, both institutions act independently of member state governments. The Government have not been actively involved in any initiatives by either Committee.

EC Action: Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Government funding grants are available to  (a) think tanks,  (b) youth groups and  (c) campaigning organisations on EU issues; and what funds were allocated to those groups in each of the last two years.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Europe Directorate's EU Communications Budget funds activity in the UK to achieve greater domestic awareness of EU issues and a more mature debate about them. The FCO Europe Directorate and other Directorates provide funding to conferences held at Wilton Park, a non-departmental public body of the FCO, think tank or other events in the UK, including on EU issues. This funding may come from Directorates' Programme Budgets or the FCO Global Opportunities Fund.
	In the 2005-06 financial year (FY), the following amounts were allocated to such organisations for activity in the UK on EU issues:
	£1,615 to the Foreign Policy Centre for printing the "Europe in a Global Age" publication written by my right hon. Friend, the then Minister for Europe (Mr. Alexander) (Europe Directorate EU Communications Budget);
	£3,698 in support of European Youth Parliament events (Europe Directorate EU Communications Budget);
	£270,000 to a range of Wilton Park conferences on European issues (Europe Directorate and Consular Directorate Programme Budgets); and
	£10,000 to a Chatham House conference (International Security Directorate European Security and Defence Policy Public Diplomacy Budget).
	In the 2006-07 FY, the following amounts were allocated to such organisations for activity in the UK on EU issues:
	£5,065 in support of European Youth Parliament events (Europe Directorate EU Communications Budget);
	£176 to the Plain English Campaign to audit our website (Europe Directorate EU Communications Budget);
	£300,000 to Wilton Park conferences on European issues (Europe Directorate Programme Budget, Global Opportunities Fund and Global and Economic Issues Programme Budget); and
	£18,000 to a Chatham House Conference on EU-China interdependencies on climate change and energy (Global and Economic Issues Directorate Programme Budget and Central Unit Programme Budget).
	Other FCO-sponsored activity by such organisations may have touched on EU issues. However, this information is not held centrally and it would incur disproportionate cost to confirm.
	Separately, think tanks, youth groups or campaigning groups may apply for funding from the FCO Global Opportunities Fund "Reuniting Europe Programme", for projects that support countries in the EU integration process in their efforts to meet the Copenhagen Criteria, particularly in the fields of improved governance and economic growth. Such organisations may also be involved in activity funded by embassies and consulates throughout Europe in line with their post objectives and the FCO's strategic priorities.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of the earliest gestational age at which an unborn child may be capable of being born alive; when her Department last undertook an evidence review on the issue that drew on  (a) UK and  (b) international research; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: While there continues to be medical advances in caring for premature babies, it is very rare for babies born at 22 weeks gestation or under to survive. Data from the 1995 EPICure Study, which followed infants born between 20 and 25 weeks of gestation, found that only 1 per cent. of babies born at 22 weeks of gestation survived to six years of age. A second EPICure study, due to report later this year, will show whether survival rates have changed since 1995.
	The Department regularly reviews evidence on this issue, most recently the Nuffield Council of Bioethics report on critical care decisions in foetal and neonatal medicine, published in November 2006.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage the £15 million earmarked to improve alcohol interventions in 2007-08 represents of the total uplift in revenue for primary care trust (PCTs) for that year; and how much of that funding each PCT has received.

Caroline Flint: The 2006-07 and 2007-08 primary care trust (PCT) revenue allocations separately identify £342 million funding in support of public health initiatives, including £15 million for alcohol interventions in 2007-08. £15 million is 0.25 per cent. of the £6 billion uplift in 2007-08 PCT allocations. PCTs have been encouraged to invest additional funding to improve their local arrangements for commissioning and delivering alcohol treatment services based on local need.
	PCTs were informed of their shares of the £342 million funding but not their shares of each initiative.

Anabolic Steroids: Misuse

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress her Department is making in tackling the illegal use of anabolic steroids; and what steps she is taking to make young people aware of the dangers of such use.

Caroline Flint: The Department recognises the harms associated with the misuse of anabolic steroids.
	FRANK, the cross-Government campaign which provides advice to young people in relation to substance misuse, includes information on the harms associated with the misuse of anabolic steroids via its website, helpline and literature.
	The harmful short and long-term effects of anabolic steroid use are also described in the most recent version of the Department publication Dangerousness of drugs: A guide to the risks and harms associated with substance misuse (January 2003).
	The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is responsible for the funding of education programmes in schools. In 2004, DfES published 'Drugs: Guidance for School', guidance for primary and secondary schools on all matters relating to drug education and the management of drugs within the school community. This guidance sets out the issues relating to drug education that schools should cover with children of different ages, and includes drugs available on prescription among the substances that this education should cover.
	The table shows prevalence of anabolic steroid use in young people, taken from figures in a school survey of 11 to 16-year-olds, recently published within the headline figures of 'Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2006'.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Anabolic steroids 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 
		
	
	Figures for the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds reporting having used anabolic steroids in the last year is shown in the table. The results have been taken from 'Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2005-06 British Crime Survey(1)' (England and Wales).
	(1) This statistical bulletin reports on the results of 29,932 respondents who completed the drugs module of the BCS and an additional 2,259 16 to 24-year-olds who were interviewed as part of the 2005-06 BCS youth boost.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Year  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Anabolic steroids 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.3 
		
	
	Anabolic steroids are only available legally via prescription and are controlled as a Class C drug.
	Anabolic steroids are included on the world anti-doping agencies (WADA) prohibited list. This list sets out the substances that are prohibited for athletes. Educating athletes of all ages about the consequences of doping comprises part of the anti-doping programme, and is delivered through UK Sports renowned 100 per cent. ME education programme.
	UK Sport, the United Kingdom's national anti-doping organisation runs an anti-doping programme, together with sports' national governing bodies, which is aimed at deterring athletes from using prohibited substances, and to catch those who do. Currently typical sanctions for those caught using prohibited substances range from a two year ban from sport for a first offence to a life time ban for a second.

Care Homes: Standards

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the national service framework standards are for review of medication prescribed for the elderly; and what steps have been taken in each of the last five years to achieve compliance with the standards;
	(2)  what steps she has taken  (a) to monitor and  (b) to audit the compliance with national service framework standards for review of medication prescribed for the elderly by care homes;
	(3)  what instructions she has issued to management and staff of care homes for the elderly on compliance with national service framework standards for review of medication;
	(4)  if she will take steps to increase understanding of the national service framework standards for review of medication among residents and their families.

Ivan Lewis: Use of medicines is a fundamental component of each of the national service framework (NSF) standards and there are common medicines elements for every standard. A document entitled 'Medicines for Older People' on implementing medicines-related aspects of the NSF for older people was included with the NSF documents when they were published. No specific information on compliance with the standards is collected centrally. However, national health service trusts are encouraged to make use of the medicines management framework which is specifically designed for hospitals as a self-assessment tool to evaluate processes in place to ensure clinical and cost-effective medicines use. Identifying whether medication review has taken place is generally only possible from patients' medical records.
	Care homes should meet the performance standards and milestones on medicines management set by the National Care Standards Commission. Care homes should seek advice from pharmacists about medicines in line with national minimum standards (NMS) for care homes for older people, and inspection teams visits to care homes should focus on medicines systems.
	Care homes are governed by the Care Homes Regulations 2001 and associated NMS, which are concerned with ensuring that services are safe and of good quality. The regulator, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, must have regard to the NMS when inspecting care homes to establish compliance with the regulations.
	The regulations and NMS, copies of which are available in the Library, include requirements for the recording, handling, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines in care homes. The NMS contain specific requirements for staff to monitor the condition of service users on medication, to call in the service user's GP if they are concerned about any change in condition that may be a result of medication, and prompt the review of medication on a regular basis. The NMS are under review at present.

Departments: Advertising

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns in each year since 1997; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to  (a) television,  (b) radio and  (c) print media.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 19 March 2007
	The following table outlines cost of departmental campaign advertising in each year since 1997.
	
		
			   million 
			  Campaign  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Antibiotics   0.91  0.44 0.44 0.42  0.39 
			 Blood Donation 0.60 1.70 0.22   
			 Drugs (joint campaign with Home Office)(1)   0.53 0.50  1.52 1.50 1.99 1.26 
			 Flu2.02 1.45 2.0 1.6 1.5 1.85 
			 Hepatitis C  
			 Immunisation 0.67 1.0 2.0 2.00 0.35 
			 Mind Out 0.13 0.16 0.95   
			 National Health Service including nurse recruitment 1.30 4.90 4.21 4.90 5.0 4.23 4.9 5.84 .024 
			 NHS Direct 0.12 0.78 1.24 0.21 1.08 0.58 0.75   
			 Organ donation 0.02 0.77 0.47 0.43 0.18 0.22
			 Prescription fraud  0.38  1.35  0.30
			 Sexwise/teenage pregnancy   0.39  2.00 1.60 2.00   
			 Sexual Health 0.30 1.50 1.50 1.26  
			 Social Care/Worker Recruitment 0.83 1.24 4.62 2.14 2.44 
			 Smoking   6.18 8.97 7.79 7.87 17.34 24.00 22.70 
			 TB Awareness 0.30 0.09
			 Walk-in centres0.37 0.02   0.20  
			 Winter(Get the Right Treatment, Ask about Medicines Day)   1.02 2.03 0.16 0.25 1.75 0.59 0.59 
			 Promoting New NHS Services (formerly Caring in Many Ways)0.85  
			 E1110.320 1.365 
			 (1) Departmental contribution to Frank substance misuse campaign jointly funded by the Department, Home Office and Department for Education and Skills. 
		
	
	The following table outlines the specific costs relating to television, radio and print media for 2004-06 as these are the only two years where we have figures broken down as requested. To provide a breakdown from 2001 would be at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Breakdown of campaign expenditure 
			   million 
			   TV  Radio  Print media 
			  2004-05
			 NHS Careers Recruitment Campaign 2.03 0.13 3.46 
			 DOH (International) Classified Advertising   0.05 
			 DOH Directories Advertising   0.18 
			 Adult Sexual Health  0.41 0.36 
			 Teenage Pregnancy  0.25 0.03 
			 Tobacco Information Campaign 13.34 2.56 2.90 
			 Wider Access Campaign   0.36 
			 Drugs Advertising 0.52 0.33  
			 Social Work Recruitment Campaign   0.46 
			 Flu Campaign 0.78 0.06 0.54 
			 Social Care Recruitment 1.10  0.18 
			 E111 Awareness   0.24 
			 Health and Social Care Awards Trade Campaign   0.03 
			 
			  2005-06
			 DoH Directories Advertising   0.07 
			 DoH Classified Advertising   0.05 
			 Tobacco EducationSecond Hand Smoke 5.29 1.65 0.67 
			 Tobacco EducationCessation 6.11 0.97 0.74 
			 Tobacco EducationSupport 0.55  0.85 
			 E111 Awareness   0.91 
			 Flu Immunisation 0.78 0.24 0.60 
			 NHS Classified/Recruitment Advertising   0.13 
			 NHS Careers recruitment   0.22 
			 Get the Right Treatment  0.24 0.24 
			 Social Work  0.39 0.20 
			 Social Care 1.09 0.37 0.36 
			 Antibiotics Campaign   0.37 
			 DrugsFrank Campaign (combined totalfunded by Home Office and Health) 1.04 0.40

Departments: Press

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the expenditure of her Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The Department's library service is responsible for central purchasing of newspapers, magazines and periodicals for library use and for retention by individual units. Suppliers, who have been chosen by competitive tendering every three to five years are used.
	Expenditure details are kept on a central system but it does not differentiate between expenditure on newspapers, magazines and periodicals.
	
		
			  Total expenditure for the financial years 1997-98 onwards 
			   000 
			 1997-98 415,890 
			 1998-99 423,560 
			 1999-2000 419,490 
			 2000-01 423,160 
			 2001-02 469,880 
			 2002-03 356,510 
			 2003-04 350,036 
			 2004-05 380,025 
			 2005-06 395,148 
			 2006-07 (1)343,525 
			 (1 )Estimate of final out-turn

Drugs: Pilot Schemes

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made with the pilots on injectable diamorphine prescribing in England; and what data on  (a) outcomes relating to the health of the individuals participating in the pilots and  (b) their offending rates have emerged from the pilots.

Caroline Flint: The Randomised Injectable Opiate Treatment Trial (RIOTT) is currently underway. The National Addiction Centre, supported by Government, are examining injectable diamorphine, injectable methadone and oral methadone treatments in a randomised controlled trial. The trial is due to be completed in 2008. The results on outcomes will only be published after completion of the trial and following peer review.

Health Services: Disabled

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what national minimum standards the Government sets for the provision of care to disabled people by local authorities; and what mechanisms the Department uses to ensure that there are no regional variations in the provision of such services.

Ivan Lewis: All of the national minimum standards that the Government sets apply to providers of services to disabled people.
	The regulations and the national minimum standards ensure that providers across the country are inspected and regulated according to consistent, nationally applied standards. The Commission for Social Care Inspection, which regulates social care, has strong enforcement powers and will take action if necessary to protect the welfare of all service users.

Health Services: Publications

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost was of publicising and marketing the End Waiting, Change Lives initiative.

Ivan Lewis: The total cost of publicising and marketing the 'End waiting, change lives' initiative during the financial year ending 2006-07 was 164,100.

Hearing Aids: Greater London

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons are for the waiting time for digital hearing aid assessments in  (a) Bexley and  (b) Bromley; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: This is a local matter but we are aware that both Bexley and Bromley are experiencing long waiting times for digital hearing aid assessments.
	To address this, the Lewisham hospital national health service trust and Queen Mary' Sidcup NHS tust, who treat Bexley patients, are replacing a vacant post by that of a locum audiologist, two audiologists are being trained to fit digital hearing aids and that systems are being restructured to be more efficient. These measures are expected to substantially reduce the backlog by summer.
	Bromley Hospital NHS trust, who treat Bromley patients, has taken action by arranging for private sector treatment, by increasing staff numbers and improve clinical and administrative processes.

Home Helps

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12March 2007 to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire,  Official Report, column 129W, on home helps, how many people received home help in the sample week in each year from 1997 to 2006; and how many hours were delivered in the sample week in 2006.

Ivan Lewis: We are only able to provide information relating to the publicly funded home care. This information is included in the following table. This information was first collected in 2000. Data for 2006 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Estimated number( 1)  of clients receiving home help during a sample week in September, 2000 to 2005, England 
			   Number of clients 
			 2000 414,700 
			 2001 395,500 
			 2002 382,000 
			 2003 373,700 
			 2004 368,600 
			 2005 367,700 
			 (1) Rounded numbers  Notes: 1. The table contains estimates for missing data. 2. Clients receiving home care purchased with a direct payment are excluded.  Source: HH1 return, table 3A

Hospital Beds

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on progress in the provision of community and domiciliary support to facilitate reductions in average hospital lengths of stay.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 29 March 2007
	The Government are committed to reducing the number of patients who are delayed in hospital, when they could be better cared for elsewhere. Councils and their national health service partners have already made significant progress in reducing delays in hospital. Between September 2001 and December 2006, the number of people over the age of 75 delayed in hospital reduced from 5,673 to 1,651a reduction of 71 per cent. Total delays for the same period were reduced from 7,065 to 2,190a reduction of 69 per cent.
	Intermediate care can be used to facilitate discharge from hospital, reducing the period of time the individual has to stay there. This aims to help speed recovery, re-establish the individual's independence and maintain social and community links. It can be used to respond to, or avert, a health crisis and thereby act as an alternative to hospital admission. This policy also has the effect of reducing demand on secondary care resources, making beds available and reducing the likelihood of readmission. As at 31 March 2006, there were 29,644 intermediate care places, benefiting over 393,000 people.
	A key goal of the White Paper, Our health, our care, our say, is to provide better prevention and early intervention for improved health, independence and well-being. Support for implementation is being provided by various pilot sites. These include 30 care closer to home demonstrations, that are working across six specialties to offer more care in community settings, including step-down facilities allowing people to be discharged from hospital to facilities near their home.

Hospitals: Voluntary Organisations

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to encourage the formation of not-for-profit organisations to run non-medical services for patients; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Government's vision of a modern health and social care system is to develop a cost effective, fair and transparent commissioning-led environment in which commissioners ensure the provision of flexible and responsive services through an increasingly diverse range of providers, including the third sector (voluntary and community sector, social enterprise and other not-for-profit organisations).
	The Commissioning Framework for health and well-being, published for consultation on 6 March 2007, sets out the proposed model for health and social care commissioning from April 2008 and how commissioners should procure effectively and fairly from a wide range of providers and actively shape the provider market. We are supporting the development of third sector and social enterprise approaches to service delivery though Section 64 General Scheme of Grants and the Social Enterprise Fund.

Hyperactivity: Drugs

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what her policy is on the use of methylphenidate drugs in the treatment of children over the age of six and adolescents who suffer from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people in England were diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Ivan Lewis: In March 2006, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidance on the use of drugs to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). NICE has estimated that around 5 per cent. of school-aged children meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, equivalent to 366,000 children and adolescents in England and Wales, but not all these children will require medication.
	NICE has recommended that drug treatment for ADHD should only be initiated by an appropriately qualified healthcare professional with expertise in ADHD and should be based on a comprehensive assessment and diagnosis. Continued prescribing and monitoring of drug treatment may be performed by general practitioners, under shared care arrangements. Drug therapy should only be part of a comprehensive treatment programme that includes advice and support to parents and teachers.
	Information is not collected on the number of people diagnosed with ADHD.

Influenza: Vaccination

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the possible effects of administering Tamiflu to  (a) 25 per cent.,  (b) 50 per cent. and  (c) 75 per cent. of the population in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak with an attack rate of (i) 25 per cent., (ii) 30 per cent., (iii) 40 per cent., (iv) 50 per cent. and (v) 75 per cent.

Rosie Winterton: Predicting the effect of the administration of Tamiflu is dependant on whether or not the unknown virus will be sensitive to Tamiflu, the clinical attack rate, the characteristic complications profile of the as yet unknown virus, the antiviral policy (such as targeted treatment or treating everyone), other interventions, and the effect of antivirals and other interventions on reducing spread. It is not a fixed figure. We use 25 per cent., 35 per cent. and 50 per cent. as our standard raw clinical attack rates for planning purposes because the pandemics of the 20th century had attack rates between 25 per cent. and 35 per cent. in the UK whereas 50 per cent. is the reasonable worst case.
	Overall, on prescribed medical and scientific advice, the administration of antivirals is expected to reduce the proportion of clinical cases who require hospitalisation and the case fatality ratepossibly by up to 50 per cent. In such calculations many assumptions need to be made, of which only two are that Tamiflu will be as effective against a pandemic strain as against seasonal influenza and that antiviral treatment will reach the patient within 24 hours of onset of symptoms.

Nutrition: EC Law

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department holds a definitive list of when each EU member state intends to close its list for receiving health claims made under Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health Claims made on foods.

Caroline Flint: The regulation allows member states until 31 January 2008 to submit their lists of health claims under article 13. The Food Standards Agency opened the United Kingdom list in October, prior to the publication of the regulation, and intends to close the UK list in September in order to allow time for claims to be assessed for eligibility and put into a format that can be submitted to the Commission. The agency does not hold a definitive list of when each European Union member state will close its list.

Nutrition: EC Law

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures her Department is considering to support small and medium sized enterprises to comply with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health Claims made on foods; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency has worked closely with the Small Business Service and in consultation with small businesses to find ways to help them comply with the regulation. The Agency is currently out to consultation on detailed guidance on compliance, which it has sought to tailor to the needs of small businesses. In addition, the Agency has decided to make public the developing list of United Kingdom health claims on its website, which should help small businesses monitor what claims are available for general use and help them co-ordinate effort to register missing claims.
	The regulation refers to the importance of small businesses in the European food industry, and makes it a requirement for the Commission, in close co-operation with the European Food Safety Authority, to make available technical guidance and tools to assist them in the preparation and presentation of an application for authorisation of a claim. The UK is pressing for early publication of this guidance.

Ophthalmic Services: Children

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to improve ophthalmic services for children; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Free sight tests are available under the National health service for children under 16 and those aged 16-18 in full time education. Sight tests allow the opportunity to review all aspects of eye health, including investigations for signs of disease.
	The National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young People and Maternity Services set out a 10-year programme to improve children's services. The NSF highlighted a need for an orthoptist-led programme for pre-school vision screening. Local agencies have the flexibility to plan and prioritise how the NSF standards should be met.

Radiography: Manpower

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many radiographers there were in the NHS in January  (a) 1997,  (b) 2001 and  (c) 2007 in (i) North Yorkshire and (ii) England.

Ivan Lewis: The number of radiographers in the specified areas are shown in the table for 1997, 2001 and 2005 as this is the latest data available.
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: qualified radiography staff in England and each specified strategic health authority (SHA) area by area of work as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   1997  2001  2005 
			 England 11,771 12,706 14,539 
			 Diagnostic radiography staff 10,364 11,163 12,700 
			 Therapeutic radiography staff 1,407 1,543 1,839 
			  Of which:
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority area 1,278 1,396 1,610 
			 Diagnostic radiography staff 1,154 1,246 1,444 
			 Therapeutic radiography staff 124 150 166 
			  Of which:
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 309 313 425 
			 Diagnostic radiography staff 287 289 399 
			 Therapeutic radiography staff 22 24 26 
			  Note: North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire figures are for the old SHA area.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical work force census.

Royal Surrey County Hospital

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations her Department has received about possible closure of the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

Caroline Flint: The Department is aware of approximately 2,017 letters about the future of the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

Social Services: Cornwall

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust's, or its predecessors', budget was for each year from 2001; and what departmental funding was provided each year over the same period for adult social care in Cornwall.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 29 March 2007
	 The total resource limits, which is made up of revenue and capital for each of the financial years from 2001-02 to 2005-06 for the predecessors of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust (PCT) is shown in table one. The most recent period for which figures are available is 2005-06. The figures have been extracted from the audited final accounts of the relevant PCTs. Central Cornwall PCT and North and East Cornwall PCT were established in 2001-02 but did not become operational until 1 April 2002. Therefore, no final accounts were submitted for 2001-02. Central Cornwall PCT was the successor to Carrick PCT therefore figures for Carrick PCT for 2001-02 have been included.
	The majority of Cornwall's social care spending is funded from the formula grant which contributes to all local government services. Specific grant funding from the Department for social care from 2001-02 to 2005-06 is shown in table two.
	
		
			  Table one: Primary care trust (pct) total (revenue and capital) resource limits 2001 to 2006 
			  000 
			   Total resource limit 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 West of Cornwall 99,590 135,304 151,104 171,687 195,782 
			 Central Cornwall 0 181,767 184,983 217,851 245,817 
			 North and East Cornwall 0 142,349 138,676 167,136 196,248 
			 Carrick 61,488 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 161,078 459,420 474,763 556,674 637,847 
			  Source: Audited PCT Summarisation Schedules (ASFs) 
		
	
	
		
			  Table two: Revenue grants to Cornwall from the Department 
			   Total ( million) 
			 2001-02 5.28 
			 2002-03 14.58 
			 2003-04 15.65 
			 2004-05 21.64 
			 2005-06 20.34

Animal Experiments: Primates

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many overseas establishments in the  (a) EU and  (b) USA are approved by his Department as sources of primates imported for research; and how many of these establishments comply fully with International Primatological Society guidelines for the acquisition, care and breeding of non-human primates;
	(2)  which overseas establishments outside the EU and USA are approved by his Department as sources of primates imported for research; and how many of these establishments comply fully with International Primatological Society guidelines for the acquisition, care and breeding of non-human primates.

Joan Ryan: There are two breeding and supply centres within the European Union that are accepted as suitable sources of non-human primates intended for use in scientific procedures in the United Kingdom, none in the USA, and five outside the European Union. It is not Home Office policy to name overseas supply centres.
	The guiding principle applied in appraising overseas breeding and supply centres is that they should meet the relevant standards set out in the Home Office code of practice for the housing and care of animals in designated breeding and supplying establishments at least in respect of animals destined for the United Kingdom. Minor deviations from those standards, such as minor variations in cage heights, may be acceptable provided that they do not have adverse consequences for the welfare of the animals at the centre.
	The International Primatological Society (IPS) guidelines for the acquisition, care and breeding of non-human primates are not a set of minimum compliance criteria for supplying animals for use in the United Kingdom. Rather, they are considered to provide guidance on good practice to which all breeders of non-human primates should aspire. Except where they differ from the requirements of the United Kingdom code of practice, Home Office policy is that compliance by overseas centres with the IPS guidelines is generally expected and overseas centres are required to identify any areas in which they do not meet the standards of the IPS guidelines when seeking acceptance as suppliers to the United Kingdom. However, not all of the IPS guidelines are appropriate in all circumstances. For example, providing a fixed light-dark cycle cannot apply where, as is the case in many source countries, animals experience natural daylight/day length throughout the year.
	Providing any deviation from the UK code of practice provisions does not have a material adverse effect on animal welfare, centres may be deemed acceptable as overseas sources. On this basis, all of the overseas supply centres currently accepted by the Home Office as suitable sources of non-human primates are judged to have appropriate animal welfare standards, even though they do not comply with every provision of the code of practice and IPS guidelines.

Asylum: Iraq

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what package of assistance has been provided by the Government for failed Iraqi asylum applicants under the UK enforced returns programme in each year since 2004.

Liam Byrne: Enforced returns to Iraq commenced in accordance with the memorandum of understanding in 2005. The package of support provided includes a small cash sum in pocket money, onward ground transportation to their home towns or villages, and the opportunity to participate in a re-skilling programme designed to fit them for employment in Iraq.

Asylum: Iraq

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had from  (a) the United Nations,  (b) other international organisations and  (c) the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional government on the consequences of returning Iraqi asylum seekers in the UK to Iraq; what responses he has made; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: UNHCR in their December 2006 position paper advised that no Iraqi from Southern or Central Iraq should be forcibly returned to Iraq until such time as there is substantial improvement in the security and human rights situation in the country. When considering the return of Iraqis from the three Northern Governorates of Iraq, UNHCR advise that returns should be conducted in a phased and orderly manner, closely co-ordinated with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities. At present we are enforcing the removal of only those individuals who are from the KRG area of Iraq, which is in line with the UNHCR position.
	Ministers and officials from the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have discussed the issue of returning Iraqi failed asylum seekers to Iraq with the Kurdish Regional Government on a number of occasions.

Asylum: Travel

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken to process travel documents for asylum seekers with exceptional leave to remain in the UK when applying for permission to leave and return to the United Kingdom was in the last period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only by interrogating individual records to establish a breakdown of decisions by document type, which would be at disproportionate cost. The performance targets for processing all types of travel document applications are:
	70 per cent. dispatched in 20 working days; and
	90 per cent. dispatched in 70 working days.
	The latest performance data available for February 2007 are:
	91 per cent. dispatched in 20 working days; and
	95 per cent. dispatched in 70 working days.

Departments: St George's Day

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to celebrate St. George's Day.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office flies the Union flag on St. Georges Day.

Driving Offences: Courts

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many driving offences were tried in  (a) magistrates' courts and  (b) Crown courts in each of the last five years; and what average penalty was handed down in each case.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 26 March 2007
	Information on proceedings, convictions and sentences imposed at criminal courts for motoring offences can be found in the annual Home Office publication 'Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary tables' (latest available covers 2004). Copies are available in the Library. The publication is available on the Research Development and Statistics (RDS) website.
	The main website addresses are:
	2000: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/motosupps00.pdf
	2001: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosbsuptab303.pdf
	2002: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/hosb0504supps.pdf
	2003: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb0605supp.pdf
	2004: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb0506supp.pdf
	2005 data will be available later this year.

Drugs: Rehabilitation Centres

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of his Department's overall drugs treatment budget is spent on residential rehabilitation beds.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	The commissioning for residential rehabilitation is carried out at a local level and the funding for it comes via a number of streams. It is therefore not possible to identify how much of the pooled treatment budget is spent on residential rehabilitation beds.

Highly Skilled Migrants Programme

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason changes to the highly skilled migrants programme are to be applied retrospectively; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The changes made to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) last year are not being applied retrospectively. The criteria which individuals need to satisfy are those in place at the time they make their application: grants of leave made before the changes are not being re-assessed under the new criteria.

Immigration Controls

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the members are of the Employers' Task Force on the points-based system for immigration control.

Liam Byrne: A list of the current members of the Taskforce is in the following table.
	
		
			  Membership list for the Employers Taskforce 
			  Name  Position  Organisation 
			 Caroline Waters Director of People and Policy British Telecom 
			 Nickie Titterington Head of Employee Relations BUPA Care Services 
			 Jonathan Ferrar HR Director for the UK IBM 
			 Sandra Ellis Head of Visas and Work Permits Shell International 
			 Helen Stacey Director SMART Recruitment 
			 Lindsey Barras Director Citigroup 
			 Naomi Corrie Hobbs Executive Director Co-Head of EMEA Global Mobility Services Goldman Sachs 
			 Sarah Buttler Director Global Ernst and Young 
			 Manabu Ozawa Director Honda Manufacturing 
			 Tracy Yates Partner for Immigration Eversheds Plc. 
			 Peter Sewell Group Personnel Manager Tesco Plc 
			 Louvain Alien Director Bechtel 
			 Ruth Harper Head of Corporate Communications Manpower UK Ltd. 
			 Keith Sharp Associate Director Nasscom 
			 Tom Hughes Managing Director Raymond Lamb Ltd. 
			 Tom Moran Senior Policy Advisor Confederation of British Industry 
			 Sam Bamford Head if EU and International Relations Department Trade Union Congress 
			 Tom Hadley Director External Relations Manager Recruitment and Employment Confederation 
			 Martin Couchman Deputy Chief Executive British Hospitality Association 
			 Martin Green Director English Community Care Association 
			 Kamal Rahman Director Indian Business Group 
			 Foluke Ajayi Head NHS Careers and Workforce Supply NHS Employers NHS Employers 
			 Paul Deemer Director NHS Employers 
			 John Baker Assistant Director, Management Skills and Leadership Department for Trade and Industry 
			 Simon Lovett Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ukvisas 
			 Neil Chrimes Head of Strategy and Programmes City of London Corporation 
			 Richard Stirling  HM-Treasury 
			 Aaron Tsui  HM-Treasury

Immigration and Visa Applications

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's policy is on the future appeals system for failed visa applications; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Those who are refused entry clearance to come to the UK under the new points based system will not have full rights of appeal. In cases where entry clearance is refused, unsuccessful applicants will be able to apply for an administrative review of the refusal. The entry clearance officer's refusal notice will set out precisely why the decision has been made, referring back to the criteria for which points are awarded. When applying for administrative review the applicant must set out which aspect of the decision, as justified in the refusal letter, was incorrect. Administrative review will provide applicants with a swift and effective remedy where a factual error has been made.
	Family visitors and dependants are not covered by the points based system.

IND Policy

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department has taken on the recommendation of the Home Affairs Select Committee on 13 July 2006 that the Immigration and Nationality Department should re-examine its policy of not providing information to third parties.

Liam Byrne: I am currently actively reviewing our policy in this area.

Young Offenders

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1460-1W, on young offenders, what steps his Department is taking to improve the accuracy of statistics recorded for breaches of  (a) supervision orders with conditions,  (b) curfew orders,  (c) community punishment and rehabilitation orders,  (d) community punishment orders,  (e) detention and training orders,  (f) reparation orders,  (g) action plan orders,  (h) attendance centre orders,  (i) supervision orders without conditions and  (j) drug treatment and testing orders; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 16 April 2007
	Although about 5 per cent. of breach data are reported to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) by the Crown Court, the rest covering magistrates courts are reported by either magistrates courts or police forces. Responsibility for processing, validating and disseminating the data rests with OCJR.
	A link between the new case management system for magistrates courts, being developed by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, and OCJR is replacing the current reporting systems employed by magistrates' courts and the police.
	It is expected to provide the necessary improvement in the data supplied and will begin replacing data under those systems later this year.

Heating

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the total cost of heating the buildings on the House of Commons estate was in each of the last three years; and what targets are in place for future years.

Nick Harvey: It is not possible to determine the total cost of heating the buildings on the House of Commons estate. All the buildings are heated by natural gas boilers which are not metered separately; the gas meters record total consumption for providing hot water services as well as heating. The approximate total gas consumption and cost for each of the last three years has been:
	
		
			   Consumption MWh  Cost ( million) 
			 2003-04 21.5 0.3 
			 2004-05 20.0 0.3 
			 2005-06 21.6 0.4 
		
	
	The increase in cost for 2005-06 is mainly due to significant increases in the unit price of gas in that year. Gas consumption reduced in 2004-05 and then increased in 2005-06; due to fluctuations in heating energy consumption caused by variations in outside temperatures measured in Degree Days. The following table shows the Degree Days for the Thames Valley region which includes London. From these figures a higher consumption would have been expected in 2005-06. That it was not so is due the installation of more efficient Palace boilers in 2004.
	
		
			   Degree days 
			 2003-04 1,740 
			 2004-05 1,703 
			 2005-06 1,869 
		
	
	A target
	to reduce energy consumption measured in terms of kWh of fuel and electricity used per square metre of building floor area by 15 per cent. by 2010-11, relative to 1999-2000
	is contained in the Energy and Water Saving Policy adopted by both Houses.

Community Relations

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisations appealed the decision not to grant funding under the community relations core funding scheme 2007-10; and which organisations were  (a) successful and  (b) unsuccessful with their appeals.

Maria Eagle: The organisations listed as follows appealed the Department's decision not to grant funding under the Community Relations Core-Funding Scheme 2007-10:
	Forward Learning
	Lurgan YMCA
	Tides Training
	Armagh City and District Council
	Harmony Community Trust
	Christian Education Movement
	The Horizon Project (Ireland) Ltd.
	St. Patrick's Centre.
	Harmony Community Trust was the only group to make a successful appeal.

Minister Policy Advisers: Autobiography

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the merits of requiring former Government advisers to submit draft manuscripts of their memoirs to the Secretary of the Cabinet for comment and approval.

Tony Blair: The requirements placed on former civil servants, including special advisers, in relation to the publication of memoirs are set out in Section 4 of the Civil Service Management Code.

EC Energy Policy

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the EU on establishing a common energy policy across all 27 member states.

Malcolm Wicks: The formation of a common EU energy policy was agreed by Heads of State and Government at the Hampton Court informal summit, during the UK presidency of the EU in 2005. Since then, the formation of a common EU energy policy has been discussed at:
	the December 2005 European Council, attended by the Prime Minister,
	the March 2006 Energy Council, which I attended as Energy Minister;
	the March 2006 European Council, attended by the Prime Minister;
	the June 2006 Energy Council, which I attended as Energy Minister;
	the June 2006 European Council, attended by the Prime Minister;
	the October 2006 informal European Council, held at Lahti, Finland, attended by the Prime Minister;
	the November 2006 Energy Council, attended by Lord Truscott;
	the December 2006 European Council, attended by the Prime Minister; and
	the February 2007 Energy Council, attended by Lord Truscott.
	In addition, the Secretary of State, Lord Truscott and I have had numerous bi-lateral meetings with our opposite numbers around the EU and with the Commission.
	At the spring European Council, 8 to 9 March 2007, Heads of State and Government, discussed the Strategic Energy Review, published by the Commission on 10 January 2007, and adopted an Energy Action Plan.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice his Department is making available to small businesses on compliance with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has made extensive efforts to inform all industry, including small businesses, of the requirements of this directive since its publication in the EC's  Official Journal in February 2003.
	These have included, most recently, the publication in February this year of Government Guidance Notes clarifying the obligations that will be brought into force from 1 July 2007. The Department also ran a series of roadshows across the UK in January and February this year, which was specifically targeted at small and medium-sized businesses, and is continuing dialogue with a number of organisations representing the small business community, including the Federation of Small Businesses and RETRA (the Radio, Electrical and Television Retailers' Association).

Energy Technologies Institute

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria will be taken into account in selecting the  (a) location and  (b) partners for the Energy Technologies Institute.

Malcolm Wicks: Research organisations across the UK were invited in January to provide information on energy related research capacity, capabilities and resources and to indicate any interest in hosting the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) director and support staff. The submissions are being considered by representatives of the industrial and public sector funding partners who will prepare initial advice for the ETI Board, once legally established, and the director, once appointed, to consider in detail and to follow-up as appropriate. Decisions will be a matter for the ETI itself. The key criteria being used to assess the submissions to host the ETI director are:
	Reputation and culture: in particular, a world class reputation for research and development across a range of energy themes; and strong existing industrial and academic relationships, with sustained collaborative working and networking track record;
	Space, facilities and location: including ability to expand to provide a suite of office/conferencing facilities commensurate with the developing needs and aspirations of the ETI, thus providing a showcase for the ETI; with good communications and access;
	Commitment to support and promote ETI; and
	Value for money.
	An update will be available on the ETI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/science/science-funding/eti/ shortly.
	Once specific research and development programmes have been determined by ETI, the selection of research partners will be based on those best equipped to undertake the programmes.

Enterprise Week

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what the cost was of  (a) creating and  (b) running the Enterprise Week website in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006 to date;
	(2)  what the cost was of  (a) creating and  (b) running the Make Your Mark campaign website in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006 to date.

Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows.
	www.starttalkingideas.org is the website of Enterprise Insight's 'Make Your Mark' campaign, and includes the dedicated Enterprise Week sub pages, accessible by the URL www.enterpriseweek.org Enterprise Insight have advised that separate figures for the Enterprise Week sub pages are not kept, as they come under the contract for the main website.
	They also advise that the total costs for creating the campaign website were:
	
		
			
			 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 139,516 
			 1 January 2005 to 31 March 2006 156,947 
			 1 April 2006 to 31 December 2006 88,007 
		
	
	The total costs for running the campaign website were:
	
		
			
			 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 100 
			 1 January 2005 to 31 March 2006 916 
			 1 April 2006 to 31 December 2006 6,166 
		
	
	I apologise for the delay in responding. This was due to an administrative error.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications have been received by the Low Carbon Building programme since 2006.

Malcolm Wicks: Since the launch of the Low Carbon Buildings programme in April 2006, we have received 6,331 applications to date. The breakdown of this is as follows:
	
		
			  Stream  Number of applications 
			 1AHousehold 6,020 
			 1BCommunity 112 
			 2ABusiness, public sector, non-profit ( 100,000 grants) 190 
			 2BBusiness, public sector, non-profit ( 1 million grants) 9

Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Wales

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications to the Low Carbon Building programme have been  (a) made and  (b) granted in Wales, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Malcolm Wicks: For the Low Carbon Buildings programme, we only hold statistics for specific areas in Wales as set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Area  Number of applications  Number of grants 
			 Anglesey 1 1 
			 Cardiff 23 16 
			 Cardigan 1 1 
			 Carmarthenshire 7 6 
			 Ceredigion 4 1 
			 Clwyd 35 30 
			 Denbighshire 2 1 
			 Dyfed 91 83 
			 Flintshire 2 1 
			 Glamorgan 2. 1 
			 Gwent 36 32 
			 Gwynedd 54 47 
			 Mid Glamorgan 21 19 
			 Monmouthshire 1 1 
			 Pembrokeshire 8 7 
			 Port Talbot 1 1 
			 Powys 112 103 
			 South Glamorgan 14 11 
			 Swansea 19 15 
			 Torfaen 1 1 
			 West Glamorgan 10 9

Natural Gas: Greater London

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information the Government holds on the condition of London's gas mains; what estimate he has made of the funding necessary to improve conditions; how much is being spent on improvements; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government do not retain information on the condition of London's gas mains.
	However, on 26 March, Ofgem published its gas distribution price control review fourth consultation document which contained some relevant information. national grid gas distribution is forecasting that it will spend 332 million (in 2005-06 prices) on mains replacement between 2008-09 and 2012-13 in its North London network as well as an additional 158 million on associated service replacement. Scotia is forecasting that it will spend 521 million over the same period in its South England network as well as an additional 384 million in associated service replacement.
	This document sets out Ofgem's consultants initial recommendations on whether this level of spend was efficient. Ofgem will be publishing their initial proposals on the appropriate level of expenditure for each gas distribution network for 2008-09 to 2012-13 at the end of May.

Natural Gas: Pipelines

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will allow National Grid to consult on all sections of the new national grid natural gas pipeline complying with section 2 of the Public Gas Transporter Pipeline Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999.

Malcolm Wicks: Regulation 10 of the 1999 Regulations require an application to be advertised and a period given for representations to be made to the Secretary of State.

Renewable Energy: Grants

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grants were made to domestic households in England for renewable energy in each month since April 2006; and for how many days in each month those grants were available.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 29 March 2007
	The low carbon buildings programme phase 1 was launched in April 2006. The following table shows the grant commitments to householders and the number of days that grants were available in each month since the scheme was launched.
	
		
			   Grant commitments  Number of days grants available 
			 May 2006 121 31 
			 June 2006 349 30 
			 July 2006 573 31 
			 August 2006 499 31 
			 September 2006 392 30 
			 October 2006 1,071 31 
			 November 2006 1,050 30 
			 December 2006 344 18 
			 January 2007 263 12 
			 February 2007 199 1 
			 March 2007 192 1 
		
	
	In the Budget 2007, it was announced that a further 6 million will be made available to the household stream of the low carbon buildings programme, taking the total available for householders to more than 18 million.
	Before deciding how to make best use of the extra funding, the household stream will be suspended for the monthly allocation in April so that it can be re-shaped.

Small Businesses

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 637W, on small businesses, what estimate he has made of the total percentage of UK gross domestic product which is derived from the activities of family businesses.

Alistair Darling: holding answer 16 April 2007
	It is not possible to provide precise estimates of the total contribution of family businesses to UK gross domestic product from statistical data on the business population.
	However the DTI Annual Small Business Survey 2005 indicates that 65 per cent of all small and medium-sized enterprises are family businesses. Based on this proportion we would expect family businesses that are also small and medium-sized enterprises to contribute around 220 billion in gross value added to the UK economy.

Solar Power

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the potential for solar power to contribute to the energy mix over the next five to 15 years; and what policies he has to maximise solar heat and solar electricity production.

Malcolm Wicks: The Energy Saving Trust undertook a study on behalf of the DTI (Potential for Microgeneration: Study and Analysis)http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/sustainable/microgeneration/index.html that examines the potential of all microgeneration technologies to contribute to the energy mix over the next 45 years.
	The Government's Microgeneration Strategy (published in March 2006)http:/www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/sustainable/microgeneration/strategy/page 27594.html sets out a number of measures aimed at promoting microgeneration technologies, including solar power. The Code for Sustainable Homes and the Building a Greener Future consultation (both Published in December 2006 by Communities and Local Government Departmenthttp://www,communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l503251) contain measures that should further promote microgeneration.

Railway Stations

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many railway stations are expected to receive access for all funding.

Tom Harris: We have announced 92 stations in England and Wales that we expect Network Rail to improve up to 2011 and are developing the list of stations that will be included in the programme between 2012 and 2015.
	Work at more than 500 other stations has been approved up to March 2008 under the Access for All Small Schemes programme. There will be further rounds of bidding each year until at least 2015.

Train Services: Shropshire

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Office of the Rail Regulator on train services in Shropshire.

Tom Harris: Department for Transport officials have had several meetings with counterparts from the Office of Rail Regulation concerning the emerging track access requirements of both franchised and open access train operators, in the light of the ongoing competition for the New Cross Country and West Midlands franchises, and the application for access rights made by the Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone open access railway company.

Railway Usage

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake a benchmarking exercise to assess railway usage in the UK against other EU member states.

Tom Harris: A range of comparative information is collected at a European level and the Department draws on this in the development of its policy. We have no plans to undertake any specific exercise to benchmark rail demand.

London Airports: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the level of emissions of oxides of nitrogen attributable to aircraft landing and take-off was at  (a) Heathrow,  (b) Gatwick and  (c) Stansted airports in each year since 1995; what forecasts have been made of future such emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: All of the data requested is not readily available. At Heathrow, over 1997 to 2004 there has been no significant trend in the contribution of on-airport sources of NOx which varied between 80 and 100 microgrammes per cubic metre. BAA figure indicates that in 2002, there were 3,780 tonnes of NOx from aircraft during landing, take-off and up to 1,000m. The Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow (PSDH) is currently modelling and forecasting future emissions for Heathrow and we will be consulting on this later in the year.

Pedestrian Crossings

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many schemes have been completed under the Highways Agency's non-motorised user crossings programme.

Stephen Ladyman: To date, the Highways Agency has completed investigations at 188 crossing points for non-motorised users and has delivered appropriate works. All of these sites were identified within the Non-Motorised User Crossings Programme.

Railways: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) percentage and  (b) actual change he expects there to be in numbers of seats on (i) peak and (ii) off peak services from Milton Keynes Central from January 2009.

Tom Harris: Once the examination of bids for the new West Midlands franchise has been completed and new timetables for the Virgin West Coast trains (incorporating additional stops) have been further refined it will be possible to provide a full response. I anticipate that train operators will be able to provide accurate details later in the year.

Railways: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) fast,  (b) semi fast and  (c) slow trains he expects to be available per hour from Milton Keynes during (i) peak and (ii) off peak times when the platform upgrade at Milton Keynes station is completed.

Tom Harris: The basic pattern of services will consist of three fast Virgin West Coast trains an hour northbound from Milton Keynes Central and two fast services an hour southbound. The exact pattern of services on the semi fast and slow services will remain broadly unchanged but is dependent upon the bids submitted for the new West Midlands franchise. I expect the operator of this franchise and Virgin West Coast Trains to provide full details later this year to passengers and stakeholders.

Railways: West Midlands

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans the new West Midlands Rail Franchise operator to be announced.

Tom Harris: The new West Midlands Rail Franchise operator is expected to be announced during summer 2007.

Rolling Stock

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what value of  (a) rail vehicles and  (b) carriages are expected to be delivered in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) the Control Period 4 (2009-14), broken down by  (A) (1) manufacturer and (2) franchise on which they are expected to operate and  (B) (x) orders already in place and (y) future planned orders.

Tom Harris: It is too early to comment on the deployment, value and orders of the additional rolling stock.
	The deployment of new rolling stock will be agreed with the industry following the publication of the High Level Output Specification and the long term rail strategy this summer.
	The rail industry will respond to the HLOS in October 2007 with proposals for delivering the sought extra capacity.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras there were in each police authority area in 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not hold this information, but does have the information for the areas covered by the Safety Camera Partnerships. The following table shows the number of fixed and mobile camera sites that are recorded as having been established in 1997.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Avon and Somerset 74 
			 Bedfordshire 9 
			 Cambridgeshire 8 
			 Cheshire 8 
			 Cleveland 1 
			 Derbyshire 18 
			 Devon and Cornwall 22 
			 Dorset 29 
			 Essex 18 
			 Gloucestershire 21 
			 Greater Manchester 38 
			 Hampshire 1 
			 Hertfordshire 11 
			 Kent and Medway 12 
			 Lancashire 29 
			 Leicestershire 6 
			 London 182 
			 Mid and South Wales 2 
			 Norfolk 4 
			 Northumbria 22 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 
			 South Yorkshire 24 
			 Staffordshire 41 
			 Surrey 11 
			 Sussex 13 
			 Thames Valley 185 
			 West Mids 24 
			 Wiltshire 4 
		
	
	The National Safety Camera Programme ceased on the 31 March and the response represents data held as at that date. Future operation and deployment of safety cameras will be under the control of local partnerships, which will be better able to supply up to date information.

PRINCE Programmes

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the purpose is of the PrinceRole of the European Union in the World programme; what its target audience is; what activities occur in the UK under the programme; whether public relations consultants are employed under the programme; what input his Department has into the programme; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The budget line 'PRINCERole of the European Union in the World' funds information and communication activities directed towards the citizens of the EU and European Neighbourhood Policy countries. Its aim is to explain the EU's external actions activity to citizens.
	There have been no activities conducted in the UK under this budget line and HM Treasury has no input into this programme. DG RELEX has employed external contractors to help with the logistics and organisation of its seminars, visits to third states, and in developing publications and its website.

Small Businesses: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the Budget on small businesses in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The latest published information(1) shows that in 2005 there were around 115,000 small businesses in Northern Ireland. The small business tax reforms announced at the Budget will reduce the differential between incorporated and unincorporated small businesses and refocus investment incentives. The self-employed will also be impacted by the announced changes to the personal tax system, including a reduction of the basic rate of income tax to 20p.
	Any small business in Northern Ireland that invests will benefit from the introduction of the new Annual Investment Allowance, which allows 100 per cent. of capital expenditure up to 50,000 to be offset against the business's tax liability.
	In addition, the Budget announced a new Northern Ireland innovation fund, for jobs and industry to be available to the restored Northern Ireland Executive.
	(1) Small Business Service data

Children: Maintenance

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases the Child Support Agency has where  (a) the non-resident parent (NRP) lives in Scotland and the parent with care (PWC) lives in England and  (b) the NRP lives in England and the PWC lives in Scotland.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 April 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases the Child Support Agency has where (a) the non-residential parent (NRP) lives in Scotland and the parent with care (PWC) lives in England and (b) the NRP lives in England and the PWC lives in Scotland.
	Information regarding the region of residence of NRPs and PWCs in cases with an assessment or calculation is published in table 25 of the December 2006 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary Statistics, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_dec06.asp.
	However, this is not a complete picture because it does not include cases without an assessment or calculation. Information on both types of cases is included in the following table.
	It should be noted that we do not have the information requested for some cases:
	Those cases without an assessment on the old computer system?around 29,000 cases.
	Cases without an assessment on the new computer system where the region of residence for the PWC, the NRP or both is not yet known?around 38,200 cases.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Country of residence of non-resident parents and parents with care, December 2006 
			  Number of cases where  With an assessment or calculation  Without an assessment calculation  Total 
			 NRP lives in Scotland, PWC lives in England 11,800 1,100 12,900 
			 NRP lives in England, PWC lives in Scotland 13,900 1,500 15,400 
			  Notes: 1. New-scheme cases being processed clerically are excluded from this analysis. 2. Cases have been allocated to government office regions through matching the postcode for a residential against the Office for National Statistics postcode directory. 3. This table relates to cases. Therefore, individuals included in more than one case are included multiple times. 4. In December 2006 there were around 67,200 cases where we do not have information on the region of residence. This was made up of: 29,000 cases on the old computer system that did not have an assessment or calculation; 38,200 cases on the new computer system which had either not yet reached the point in the process at which details on the region of residence of the parent with care could be identified, or where the region of residence for one or both of the NRP and PWC was unknown. 5. Volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred.

New Deal Schemes: Self-employed

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of customers who will participate in the new deal self employment programme in 2007-08; and how many did so in each of the previous three years.

Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to him on 23 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1184-86.

Pensions

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria will be used to ensure that funds invested by the proposed Delivery Authority for the personal accounts scheme will be invested in the best interests of its members.

James Purnell: The personal accounts Delivery Authority will not operate the personal accounts scheme and, as such, will not invest members' contributions. The Delivery Authority's role will be to set up personal accounts prior to any members joining the scheme.
	As with existing defined contribution occupational pension schemes, trustees will be responsible for the investment of members' contributions in accordance with existing legislation, including the requirement to act in the members best interests.
	Policy relating to investment choices for personal accounts is under development and will be presented in the second Pensions Bill currently planned for introduction later this year.